Appeals Judge Donald Lay Dies

ST. LOUIS-- A federal judge who led the St. Louis-based Eighth U-S Circuit Court of Appeals for more than a decade has died. Retired appeals court Judge Donald Lay died Sunday at his home in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. He was 80 years old. Lay was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, at the age of 39. Lay served as chief judge from 1980 through 1991, when he took senior status. He retired in January. He was born in Princeton, Illinois, and earned his bachelor's and law degrees at the University of Iowa. Visitation and a memorial service will be held in Minnesota, with interment in Omaha, Nebraska, where he formerly lived. Among survivors are his wife of 57 years, Miriam Lay; five daughters and several grandchildren.